c h a p t e r THREE
{ it's just past eight and i'm feeling young and reckless

*
E m i l y ' s P O V

Instead of waking up to my alarm clock or screaming brother, I heard Bert McCracken belting out the refrain of "All That I've Got".

"Hello?" I say, trying to sound awake.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" I guess I need to improve my acting skills.
"Oh. Hey, Trick," I said, yawning mid-sentence.
"I'll call you ba-"
"No, no, it's okay. It's like," I grabbed my clock. "10:00 AM, I should be up."
"Sure?"
"Yeah, Trick, don't sweat it."
"Okay, well I was wondering if we could hang out today?"
"I'll have to clear it with my mom, wait a sec."

"Mom! Can I hang out with Trick today?!" I yelled, covering the speaker.
"Sure honey, just don't stay out too late! Ben's sleeping over at Jake's house today, so don't worry that he's not in his room!"
"Okay!"
"I'm going to work overtime, so money for dinner is on the table!"
"Love you mom!"
"Love you too!"

"Yep," I said, getting back on the phone. "I'm free to do as I please."
"Great. My new neighbors moved in and they have a kid our age. I talked to him and he seems pretty cool. I was thinking that we could, ya know, welcome him to the neighborhood and all that fun stuff."
"Yay! A new friend!"
"Heh. Yeah. What time should I pick you up?"
"Give me an hour."
"Okay. I'll see you then."
"Bye."
"Bye!"

After getting off the phone I hopped into the shower and let the hot water run over my body. For some odd reason I couldn't help but think about what my brother had said. "Em, why can't you date nice guys like Trick instead of creeps like Trevor? " It's true. I do have a habit of dating boys that are a bit creepy, but that's only after we break up. According to my friend Paige, this is my dating cycle: A boy asks me out, I say yes, he gets clingy, I get annoyed, I dump him, he gets weird and stalkerish. Repeat.

I thought she was overreacting, but now that I think about it, she's totally right. As hard as I try, I just can't say no to people, even if I know it won't work out.

Is a boy who likes hugs, scary movies, roller coasters and me too much to ask for? I don't know. Maybe I'm just too picky.

By the time I was done contemplating my love life, I found that I had already wrapped myself in a towel and gotten out of the shower. Right as I stepped into my bedroom, I heard the doorbell chime.

"Crud!" I looked at a clock, and it had indeed been an hour since my conversation with Trick.

I ran downstairs in my towel and opened the door. "Hey guys. Sorry I'm not ready yet," I said, opening the door. "You two can chill on the couch. I'll go upstairs and put some clothes on. I promise I'll be quick," I said in a hurry.

I quickly went to my room and put some clothes on and toweled off the rest of the water that was in my hair, then combed it. I applied my eyeliner and lip gloss, then grabbed my purse and headed downstairs.

"Sorry I kept you waiting."
"No problem. Oh, Pete, this is Emi. Emi This is Pete." Pete extended his hand to me.
"Dude, handshakes are for old people and after you say the Our Father in church," I said, pulling him into a hug. After he pulled away, I took Trick's hand.
"So," I said. "What do you have planned for today, Trick?"
"I was thinking about hitting the mall, maybe the movies."
"Sounds good," Pete said.

I locked my door and we piled into Trick's car--Pete in the back seat, while I was in the passenger's side.

"So, Pete, what do you think of Chicago so far?" I asked.
"Well there are a lot of tall buildings," he laughed.
"Nice."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, so I put a CD in. Sugarcult's "Memory" was soon filling the car. I sang along. The rest of the ride to the mall consisted on small talk between Trick and Pete, while I sang along to whatever music was playing.

"We're here!" Trick said.

He opened the door for me, then all three of us headed inside.

"Where would you like to go first?" I asked.
"Any good music stores around?" Pete asked.
"Ah, a music lover I see," I said, hopping onto Trick's back. "Off to Tower Records!"
"Okay, Princess," Trick said, starting to walk.
"Are you sure you can carry me?"
"Em, you weigh like 5 pounds, I think I was handle it," he said, laughing.
"Heh. Okay."

After walking for about 10 minutes we arrived at the store.

"Here we are."
"Thank you, Patrick," I said, hopping off his back.

We all went our separate ways. I wandered aimlessly because I burned/bought all the CD's that I wanted. As I turned to walk into another aisle, I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I said, looking up.
"Emi, could we talk?"
"Trevor?"
"Please, it'll only take a second."
"Okay," I sighed. "I'm listening."
"Could you just give me another chance? I know the only reason you broke up with me was because I complained that you spent too much time with Patrick, but I can change."
"Trick's my best friend. Plus, you shouldn't have to change for me, Trev. I'm sorry, but I just want to be friends."
"Please? I miss you."

Crud. Confrontation. RED ALERT! RED ALERT!

"Um..." NO! NO! NO! Don't do it! End the stupid cycle! Say Trick's your boyfriend!... Wait, you just said that he was your best friend. Think! "I can't. I have a boyfriend." Please believe me, please believe me.
"C'mon, even I can tell you're lying." Keep your cool, Emi. Think...Think...
"Pete!" I said.
"Yeah," he said, walking over. I took hold of his hand. Luckily he caught my drift and played along.
"Is there a problem here?" he said, putting his arm around my waist.
"Sorry, I was just trying to talk to her," and with that Trevor walked out of the store.

"Thank you so much, Pete!" I said, hugging him.
"No problem, but I thought you and Pat-"
"Trick were going out," I finished his sentence. "No, but a lot of people think so. I love Trick to death, but we're just friends."
"Ah, I see."

Pete and I wandered around for a bit, talking about random stuff. I found out that he was going to the same school as me and Trick, except he was gonna be a junior. We eventually bumped into Trick in the DVD section.

"Hey, you two ready to hit another place?"
"Yep, let's go!" I said.
"Where are we going next?" Pete asked.
"Well, if you're hungry we can go to the food court. If not we can go to the arcade."
"I'm not that hungry, so I guess the arcade."
"Cool. Can I stop somewhere first?" I asked.
"Sure."

I went to the McDonalds and bought a bottle of water. Then caught up to the guys.

We headed to the arcade. I went put $10 in the change machine and walked toward the DanceDanceRevolution platform, while Trick and Pete played Time Crisis.

*
What'll happen now that Pete's been thrown into the mix? Review and find out.